Seeking Air Traffic Controllers for Testing a New VFR Tower Control Simulator

[montewt]

I'm reaching out to invite air traffic controllers to test a brand new ATC simulator, specially crafted for VFR tower control in Class D airspace.

My journey began as a tower controller back in the 1980s, primarily managing VFR traffic. Fast forward to recent times, my search for a simulator to revisit my controlling days yielded only IFR-focused tools, which didn't align with my experience. Consequently, I took the initiative to develop my own simulator that mirrors the VFR control environment.

I am thrilled with the result and believe it has great potential as a training tool. Now, I am looking to share this tool and gather feedback. If you're an air traffic controller interested in a new training experience or simply wish to explore VFR controlling through simulation, I'd love from you to try it out. Your insights will be invaluable in enhancing its realism and utility.

Website is towersim.com

 

[Tater_Toad]

I'm reaching out to invite air traffic controllers to test a brand new ATC simulator, specially crafted for VFR tower control in Class D airspace.

My journey began as a tower controller back in the 1980s, primarily managing VFR traffic. Fast forward to recent times, my search for a simulator to revisit my controlling days yielded only IFR-focused tools, which didn't align with my experience. Consequently, I took the initiative to develop my own simulator that mirrors the VFR control environment.

I am thrilled with the result and believe it has great potential as a training tool. Now, I am looking to share this tool and gather feedback. If you're an air traffic controller interested in a new training experience or simply wish to explore VFR controlling through simulation, I'd love from you to try it out. Your insights will be invaluable in enhancing its realism and utility.

Website is towersim.com

Post an update when the site is live. I'm looking into a new PC and for some reason I've always wanted to play the flight sim games where you can act like a controller. This might be fun too. I think my desire is to work atc in the sim and cuss the pilots for non compliance

 

[montewt]

1 - You can go to towersim.com/downloads to download the sim.

2 - When you run it, press keys 1-8 to taxi airplanes, press R for Quick Reference, press H for the HUD, the HUD will give you the phraseology to say for the current airplane.

Remember to use the correct pronunciation for the call sign and the runway. For example N1817A is spoken November one eight one seven Alpha. Runway 13 is spoken Runway one three.

3 - You will probably have the most trouble with speech recognition. Speech recognition is known for misinterpretations. But I want the simulator to be all verbal because that is where the most practice is needed.

I have got it so almost all the time it interprets my words correctly. So don't give up, it is possible.

Say the command clearly without hesitation. It's all about practice. Seasoned controllers will probably have no problem.

Only the keywords need to be interpreted correctly to get the pilot to respond. The keywords include the letter in the call sign, for example N1817A is "Alpha", and another word such as "Closed" for closed traffic. So, for example, only "Alpha" and "Closed" need to be interpreted correctly.

The HUD shows the keywords and the result of how the command was interpreted.

4 - Make sure you copy the vosk folder (per download instructions) into your documents folder for the speech recognizer.

5 - The Complete documentation is at towersim.com/doc.

6 - The sim is for windows only.

7 - The simulator performs best on a gaming PC. You can try it on a regular PC, but the results may not be that great. I don't know the exact specs required. I'd like to hear from you guys what kind of PCs you use and what happens.

If you press F, you'll see the Frame Rate. Anything over 20 is fairly good.

If you press O, options appear where you can adjust resolution and other performance options. Changing these might up the frame rate.

8 - Remember that you are part of the process of the development of this simulator.

Maybe there is a simulator out there that does the same thing better. I haven't found one online, but maybe the FAA has one.

Please post for any questions and comments. Thanks.

 

[Tater_Toad]

So you need a mic, keyboard and mouse and that's it, right? Any recommendations on mic? I could go to staples and pick some random crap but idk much about mic quality.

Any chance on support for xbox controller? I can plug a mic into my controller.

 

[montewt]

So you need a mic, keyboard and mouse and that's it, right? Any recommendations on mic? I could go to staples and pick some random crap but idk much about mic quality.

Any chance on support for xbox controller? I can plug a mic into my controller.

I have everything working on my setup. Not sure how it will work on other systems. All I know is it has to be Windows. I have a gaming computer that it works well on. I tried on my laptop, but the graphics were funky and it was laggy but still worked. I would guess most any mic would work. Could try xbox controller. Do need mic, mouse, and keyboard. I'm hoping that people will try different things and report back their experiences. Thanks for you interest.

 

[DADDYSbabyBIRD]

I have everything working on my setup. Not sure how it will work on other systems. All I know is it has to be Windows. I have a gaming computer that it works well on. I tried on my laptop, but the graphics were funky and it was laggy but still worked. I would guess most any mic would work. Could try xbox controller. Do need mic, mouse, and keyboard. I'm hoping that people will try different things and report back their experiences. Thanks for you interest.

I will give it a try here within a week or so and report back. I have a self built gaming PC as well so it should run well. Have worked at two Deltas and a Bravo, one of the deltas being a busy VFR cluster *&@#.

 

[montewt]

Love self built gaming PCs. Deltas can be the most difficult airspaces because you get traffic coming from all directions. That's exactly why I made this simulator. It's all about speaking fast without thinking. Lot's of practice is necesary to get that muscle memory. I wrote the sim originally just for myself but then thought others might find it useful. Can't wait to hear how it goes for you.

 

[montewt]

Just to be clear, my intent is to allow access to the simulator for just a couple of days to gather initial feedback. Please note that after the specified period, the download link will be disabled, and the simulator will no longer be available for general download. This is to ensure a controlled distribution and to collect focused feedback from the community. If anyone is still interested, post or send email to [email protected] and I will make it available to you specifically.